Sunday, November 25, 2012

I had a fun weekend in Las Vegas, and ate some good food, too, though as per usual, I didn't manage to take any pictures of my meals during my travel.
In addition to gobs of delicious vegan donuts from Ronald's Donuts, and plenty of salad stuff from the Whole Foods salad bar, I was happy to find two restaurants in Mandalay Place that currently offer vegan menus as part of "World Vegan Month."

Hussong's Cantina had a vegan menu that included burritos, tacos, enchiladas, and a delicious taco salad with a crispy rice tortilla, roasted corn and black beans, Gardein "chicken," and Daiya cheese. The service was friendly, and the guacamole was superb.

Next door to Hussongs, Slice of Vegas Pizza was serving up delicious pizzas with Daiya cheese on a thin, crisp crust. The highlight of my meal there, however, wasn't the pizza but rather the "Not Your Mamma's Garlic Bread," which would more appropriately be called "pesto bread," as it came completely slathered in fresh pesto. The bread was served in a hot cast iron skilled with a whole head of slow-roasted garlic on the side. My husband was quite enamored of the vegan chocolate cake on the dessert menu, which was exceptionally moist for restaurant cake (we were told it had lots of avocado in the batter), and was served in a giant slab drizzled with chocolate syrup and sprinkled with cookie crumbs.

As is often the case when I travel, I overindulged and came home feeling a bit vegetable-deprived; my first task when I got home was grocery shopping for enough fresh veggies to enjoy giant salads all week. Fortuitously, my Tofu Xpress was delivered while I was away, so I'll be having fun with pressing and marinating tofu for my salads this week...I'll have a review up of the Tofu Xpress once I've done some experimenting.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Instead of doing something Thanksgivingy this year, my husband and I will be travelling to Las Vegas, one last little getaway as a couple before our baby arrives. I usually get really into cooking Thanksgiving dinner, but since I won't be cooking for the holiday, I figured I'd spare you all yet another pumpkin or pecan pie post. Instead, I present you with peanut butter and coffee custard pie. I served this baby up with non-dairy whipped "cream" and topped it with chocolate syrup and a drizzle made using the same ingredients as the peanut butter shell in this post.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The buckwheat makes these waffles pretty hearty on their own, but adding a big dollop of silky tofu mousse adds a nice protein punch. The mousse is similar in flavor and consistency to a thick vanilla yogurt, so that would make a good substitute if the strain of pulling out your blender is too much for you. Both the tofu mousse and the strawberry sauce can be made a day ahead of time. You can also make these waffles gluten-free easily by replacing the all purpose flour with a gluten free flour blend. This made about 8 waffles on my waffle iron.

Process: Heat all ingredients in a small, covered saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until strawberries are falling apart, about 7 minutes. Smash with a potato masher to help break up the strawberries. If not using immediately, refrigerate and then re-warm the sauce when ready to use.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

I decided to spend election night making (and eating!) cupcakes while listening to the election coverage on NPR. Since the night promises to be a nail-biter, I figured blue velvet cupcakes would be appropriate as they can serve as either celebration (can you guess who I voted for?) or consolation cakes (boo-hoo berry). These didn't turn out as blue as I was hoping they would, but are bluer than they look in the photos, my dark kitchen not being the ideal environment for taking true-to-life pictures.

Toast coconut on a baking sheet in a 350° oven until golden-brown, about 6 minutes. Set aside.

In a blender, blend together coconut milk, almond milk, tofu, sugar, cornstarch, and salt until completely smooth. Pour into a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla, then stir in 1 cup of the toasted coconut.

Pour into baked pie crust, and refrigerate for a few hours.

Meanwhile, make pineapple topping (recipe below).

When pie and topping have set, spread topping over pie, and sprinkle on the remaining 1/2 cup of toasted coconut.

Pineapple Topping

The Ingredients:

1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple

1/3 c sugar

3 T cornstarch

1/8 t salt

1 T margarine

The Process:

Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a small saucepan. Whisk in 2 T of juice from the pineapple until no lumps remain.

Add remaining pineapple and its juices, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and begins to bubble.

Remove from heat and whisk in margarine until smooth. Refrigerate for a couple hours before using.